An entrepreneur who founded China's largest seed supplier Shandong Denghai Seeds said President Xi Jinping's speech at a symposium last month provided much-needed reassurance to the nation's private enterprises.

Li Denghai, known as "the father of hybrid corn", attended the symposium on February 17 – which also included tech giants Alibaba, Huawei and Tencent, as well as emerging tech company DeepSeek – at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

It was the first meeting between Xi and private entrepreneurs in six years.

Li quoted the president as saying China will unwaveringly encourage, support and guide the development of the non-public sector economy.

"This has made us more confident and determined in developing private enterprises. It felt like a reassurance," he told RTHK in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the "Two Sessions" in Beijing.

"We learned that capable private companies can work on important national projects, and have a platform or opportunity to serve the country and show what we're capable of doing. We're excited that we can play a part in the country's development."

When asked about challenges, the National People's Congress deputy said growing his seed business isn't easy because of strict rules for land use.

"In terms of the overall development process, we need to have land and build facilities, which require government approval. This is still quite challenging, right? Currently, land control is quite strict," Li said.

He said manpower is another issue because fewer young people want to work in agriculture these days.

Beijing will formulate the private economy promotion law to strengthen legal protections and policy support for private enterprises, as stated in the work report released by the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

Chairman of Muyuan Foodstuff Qin Yinglin, who also attended the symposium last month, said the new law showed the country's determination to create a fairer business environment.

In a written reply to RTHK, Qin said he hopes the government will continue to improve the legal environment, so private enterprises can dedicate themselves to developing their business.

Wei Gejun, an adviser to the People's Bank of China, said the central bank is working with commercial banks to support private enterprises, such as making it easier for companies to get loans.

Wei said private companies will continue to get loans at low interest rates for the next few years and have better access to different types of funding.